1. Field of Invention
The invention relates to a method and apparatus for hydrogen-enhanced performance of diesel engines through the injection of hydrogen and oxygen and, more particularly, but not way of limitation, to an onboard system adapted to generate oxygen and hydrogen by electrolysis for delivery to a diesel engine.
2. History of Related Art
The generation of hydrogen and oxygen by the way of electrolysis has been known for many decades. Likewise, the combustibility of the combination of gaseous oxygen and hydrogen is known. Through the years, internal combustion engines have been the subject of performance enhancing designs by way of injecting additives to the engine to improve efficiency. One such way is to inject hydrogen and oxygen into the feed of an engine. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,733,421, which teaches a hydrogen-oxygen fuel cell, describes the major problems in the operation of convention fossil fueled vehicles and details the advantages of utilizing the electrolysis products in engines. Much attention has been placed on gasoline engines operating under the “Otto cycle”, which uses a spark to ignite a compressed fuel.
Diesel engines are also in widespread use. They operate under the “Diesel cycle”, which relies on shear compression and latent heat of the engine block to ignite the compressed fuels. Not the least of the problems associated with the diesel engine are the emissions produced by the diesel oil combustion due to incomplete combustion in the engine cylinder. This is, indeed, a predominant issue in the utilization of the conventional diesel engine. Since the diesel engine is a compression-based ignition system, various parameters of the engine performance differ from that of the gasoline engine. The Diesel cycle does not require spark plugs as compared to the Otto cycle. This difference in combustion ignition subsequently results in markedly different performance characteristics as well as the resultant products of combustion. Byproducts of combustion engines have become a major focal point for both gasoline and diesel engines. Many performance enhancement systems and methods have received careful review, including electrolysis unit product enrichment.
Among the disadvantages of diesel engines is the discharge of pollutants due to poor combustion efficiency. The reasons for such pollution vary; however, one issue is the burning rate of the diesel fuel within the engine cylinders. Often the diesel fuel mixtures are exhausted through the exhaust manifold while still burning. This is the result of incomplete combustion in the cylinders. The discharge of under combusted hydrocarbons and other byproducts can be hazardous to the health of exposed populations as well as the overall environment.
It has been found that the introduction of hydrogen and oxygen of the type generated by an electrolysis unit can enhance the performance of internal combustion engines. For this reason, numerous designs address the introduction of hydrogen and oxygen gases into an internal combustion engine prior to ignition. U.S. Pat. No. 5,733,421 describes some of these designs and steps taken to address many problems associated with such systems.
There are multiple concerns when designing electrolysis units for onboard service near an internal combustion engine. Safety, reliability, required maintenance, hydrogen volume and the like have generally been key to commercial acceptance of such systems. Unfortunately, these same factors have limited various design aspects with regard to creating a reliable onboard system for internal combustion engines such as diesel engines. It is well known, as set forth above, that the combustion cycle of diesel engine varies from that of an internal combustion gasoline engine. For example, spark plugs are not used in diesel engines and are instead replaced by glow plugs. The glow plugs are electrically charged to heat the initial gases compressed in a “cold” cylinder of a diesel engine to the point of ignition and are subsequently deactivated to allow the natural heat of the engine block and the pressure of compression of the air fuel mixture within the diesel system to provide the requisite combustion in accordance with established diesel cycle technology.
With a gasoline engine, most the products of hydrolysis are fully combustible and may be combusted in place of fuel. This is true of “Otto cycle” internal combustion engines where it is difficult to put too much pure hydrogen-oxygen “the products of electrolysis” into the internal combustion engine. The hydrogen-oxygen gas basically replaces the fuel oxygen mixture and the performance is maintained. However, to produce a sufficient supply of oxygen and hydrogen through electrolysis to run an Otto cycle engine is quite difficult with a relatively small electrolysis unit. The volume of hydrogen-oxygen gas that would be consumed in a conventional Otto cycle engine of the type utilized in automobiles today would require a much larger electrolysis unit than described herein. In a diesel engine, if too much oxygen and hydrogen is injected into the engine, the free oxygen needed for combustion would be displaced. Any excess oxygen and hydrogen is not a solution in a diesel cycle engine unless the quantities are controlled and optimized for diesel engine enhancement.